Parentage: The Guzmania variety ‘DURAMIA’ is an F1 hybrid seedling selection which resulted from a controlled pollination breeding program. In May of 2004, the inventor performed the controlled cross-pollination of Guzmania hybrid ‘Depladia’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 13,577), the seed parent, and Guzmania lingulata ‘Magnifica’ (not patented), the pollen parent, at a commercial greenhouse in Alajuela, Costa Rica. Those skilled in the art recognize that Guzmania seed can be difficult to germinate. Therefore, in September of 2004, the seed that resulted from the cross of May 2004 in Alajuela, Costa Rica were shipped by the inventor to a tissue culture laboratory in Evergem, Belgium for in vitro seed germination in order to increase the germination rate. At the direction of the inventor, the resulting seedlings were grown for 6 months to evaluate plant vigor and the most vigorous seedlings, given the population code 8222, were then shipped back to Alajuela, Costa Rica for further evaluation by the inventor. In May of 2007, the inventor selected one seedling for further evaluation due to its unique growth habit and flower characteristics, giving the seedling the experimental code, 8222#1. This seedling was further evaluated for several years in order to confirm the distinctness and stability of the characteristics first observed. Upon confirmation this new and distinctive cultivar was given the name ‘DURAMIA’.
Asexual Reproduction: ‘DURAMIA’ was first asexually propagated by meristematic tissue culture in January of 2014 at a commercial laboratory in Evergem, Belgium and has since been asexually propagated through 3 additional generations. Through subsequent generations, the unique features of this cultivar are stable and reproduced true to type.